Portable self-cleaning door mat

ABSTRACT

A self-cleaning door mat having a hollow mat frame which is provided with a top plate of substantially rigid material. The plate is formed with a plurality of depressed apertures which are preferably aligned axially and transversely. The marginal crests of the depressions are covered with felt or other soft material which will remove dirt from shoes, etc. The apertures are closed by spring mounted valve members which protrude above the depressions a sufficient distance to be unseated by being depressed by a person&#39;&#39;s foot being wiped off on the soft material or by a person standing thereon. The dirt is sucked down through the apertures by a suction device which device automatically starts when stepped-on. The suction device is connected to a collector into which the dirt is deposited.

United States Patent [1 1 Borg [451 Jan. 22, 1974 PORTABLE SELF-CLEANING DOOR MAT [76] Inventor: John P. Borg, 271 St. Johns Rd.,

Toronto, Ontario, Canada [22] Filed: July 7, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 269,825

[52] US. Cl. 15/311), 15/161 [51] Int. Cl A471 5/38 [58] Field of Search 15/301, 303, 310, 311, 36,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,165,773 l/1965 Palpacelli 15/310 3,649,994 3/1972 Harris 15/311 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 742,839 9/1966 Canada 15/303 Primary Examiner-Peter Feldman Assistant ExaminerC. K. Moore [57] ABSTRACT A self-cleaning door mat having a hollow mat frame which is provided with a top plate of substantially rigid material. The plate is formed with a plurality of depressed apertures which are preferably aligned axially and transversely. The marginal crests of the depressions are covered with felt or other soft material which will remove dirt from shoes, etc. The apertures are closed by spring mounted valve members which protrude above the depressions a sufficient distance to be unseated by being depressed by a person's foot being wiped off on the soft material or by a person standing thereon. The dirt is sucked down through the apertures by a suction device which device automatically starts when stepped-on. The suction device is connected to a collector into which the dirt is deposited.

3 Uaims, 2 Drawing Figures 1 PORTABLE SELF-CLEANING DOOR MAT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The maintenance of door mats, at the entrance to buildings, etc., in a clean condition, at all times, in localities where dirt and snow is prevalent is sometimes a difficult task. Under these conditions, unless the door mat is constantly cleaned, it soon becomes filthy and useless for the intended purposes of preventing dirt from shoes being carried into the building. Such constant cleaning is impractical by manual means.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a door mat which incorporates an automatic mechanical cleaning device which will constantly clean the mat and remove the dirt during each use.

OUTLINE OF THE INVENTION The preferred construction of the door mat of the invention consists essentially of a rectangular hollow frame having a top divided into a plurality of depressions arranged in aligned rows of grid-like form, each depression being centrally apertured with each aperture being closed by a ball-valve spring biased to closed position, boot scraping means arranged around the crest of each depression, an electrically operated suction device operatively communicating with the interior of the frame for removing dirt therefrom and switch means controlling the operation of the suction device.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The preferred form of the invention will now be described having reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the door mat; and

FIG. 2 is a cross-section on the line 22 of FIG. 1.

The door mat illustrated in the drawings comprises a substantially rectangular hollow frame defined by bottom wall 11, top wall 12, and four side walls, two of which 13,14 are illustrated.

The top 2 is divided into a plurality of depressions arranged in aligned rows of grid-like form with apertures 16 formed centrally in each depression. The marginal edges 17 are all co-planar, of substantial width and form a grid-like pattern on the surface or top 12.

Mounted within the frame 10 is a plurality of ballvalves 18, one for each aperture. Each ball-valve 18 is mounted on a coil spring 19 confined within a channel 20 for retaining the spring in a vertical position. The channels 20 are formed with passages adjacent the bottom wall 11 and are of sufficient size as to permit dirt to flow readily to the suction device hereinafter mentioned. It will be seen from FIG. 2 that the diameter of the ball-valve 18 is greater than the diameter of the aperture 16 withthe ball-valve protruding above the depressed portion and slightly above the marginal edges 17 so that when a person steps on the mat and scrapes the dirt off his shoe, the sole of his or her shoe will contact and depress one or more of the balls as the case may be, causing the dirt to slide into the depression and be sucked into the inside of the hollow frame vIII. The marginal edges 17 may be covered with piled fabric or similar material to aid in the removal of dirt. In order to remove the dirt from the interior of the mat and also to draw the dirt into the interior, the wall 13 is provided with an outlet 21 which is connected to a suction device 22 having a dirt collector receptacle 23. The electrical circuit 24 is connected to a suitable source of electricity and the operation of the suction device controlled through an electrical switch 27 which is closed and opened by a person stepping on and off the mat.

To prevent the heels of womens shoes depressing the balls too far and thus being caught in the apertures, a stop member 26 is mounted in the channel and projects upwardly through the coil spring. The stop member limits the depression of the ball to prevent shoe heels being caught.

What I claim is:

1. A self-cleaning door mat consisting essentially of a hollow substantially rectangular body having its top surface formed with a plurality of depressions, each depression being centrally apertured and being bordered by a piled material, a spring biased valve means closing each aperture, said valve means being constructed and arranged to be unseated by a person stepping on the top surface, an electrically operated suction means communicating with the interior of the body, and electric switch means controlling the operation of the suction means.

2. The self-cleaning door mat according to claim 1 in which said valve means comprises a compression spring mounted below each aperture and a ball seated on the top end of the spring, said ball having a diameter greater than the diameter of the aperture seating against the underside of the aperture, said ball having a portion of its periphery projecting through said aperture a sufficient distance to be engaged and depressed by a person standing on the top surface.

3. A self-cleaning door mat consisting essentially of a hollow substantially rectangular body having its top surface divided into a plurality of depressions in aligned rows of grid-like form with an aperture disposed centrally in each depression, each depression being bordered by a piled material, a spring biased valve means closing each aperture, said valve means being constructed and arranged to be unseated by a person stepping on the top surface, an electrically operated suction means communicating with the interior of the body and said apertures to draw air through the piled material and the apertures when said valve means is open, and electric'switch means controlling the operation of the suction means. 

1. A self-cleaning door mat consisting essentially of a hollow substantially rectangular body having its top surface formed with a plurality of depressions, each depression being centrally apertured and being bordered by a piled material, a spring biased valve means closing each aperture, said valve means being constructed and arranged to be unseated by a person stepping on the top surface, an electrically operated suction means communicating with the interior of the body, and electric switch means controlling the operation of the suction means.
 2. The self-cleaning door mat according to claim 1 in which said valve means comprises a compression spring mounted below each aperture and a ball seated on the top end of the spring, said ball having a diameter greater than the diameter of the aperture seating against the underside of the aperture, said ball having a portion of its periphery projecting through said aperture a sufficient distance to be engaged and depressed by a person standing on the top surface.
 3. A self-cleaning door mat consisting essentially of a hollow substantially rectangular body having its top surface divided into a plurality of depressions in aligned rows of grid-like form with an aperture disposed centrally in each depression, each depression being bordered by a piled material, a spring biased valve means closing each aperture, said valve means being constructed and arranged to be unseated by a person stepping on the top surface, an electrically operated suction means communicating with the interior of the body and said apertures to draw air through the piled material and the apertures when said valve means is open, and electric switch means controlling the operation of the suction means. 